1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to holding devices and mechanisms that can receive and engage the exterior of a bucket or similar receptacle. More particularly, the present invention relates to holding devices and mechanisms that prevent a bucket from moving while materials are mixed within the bucket.
2. Prior Art Description
People use buckets for countless purposes other than to just hold water. For example, construction workers, masons and the like often use buckets to mix small batches of cement or mortar. Lawn care professionals often mix seeds, fertilizers and chemicals in buckets. Furthermore, many commercial products, such as paint, are sold in buckets.
The use of a bucket enables a person to mix materials together within the confines of the bucket without losing any of the material. Although the contents of a bucket can be mixed by hand, many people mix the contents of a bucket using some power tool, such as a power drill that is attached to a blade mixer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. D 419,414 to Pellack, entitled Cement Mixing Attachment For A Power Drill, shows a blade mixer that enables concrete to be mixed within the confines of a five gallon bucket using a power drill.
Although the use of power tools does make the mixing of a bucket's contents easier, it does have certain drawbacks. Many materials, such as cement mixes, mortar mixes, sand mixes, and the like are extremely dense and/or viscous. As such, they resist being mixed. Accordingly, a power tool with an exceptionally strong motor must be used to mix this material within the confines of a bucket. Due to the high viscosity of the material being mixed and the power of the mixing tool, it is easier for the mixing tool to spin the entire bucket of material than it is for the mixing tool to spin just the contents of the bucket. Consequently, in order for the contents of the bucket to be mixed, the bucket must be held stationary during the mixing process.
When materials are mixed in a bucket using a power tool, it commonly requires both hands of the operator to run the power tool. Accordingly, the operator has no free hand to hold the bucket still during mixing. As a result, the operator commonly attempts to hold the bucket still using his/her feet. This places the operator off-balance and offers little resistance to the bucket. A common result is that the bucket still moves and the operator falls.
In order to improve the resistance between an operator's foot and the turning bucket, a variety of holding devices have been developed in the prior art that extends between an operator's foot or leg and the bucket. Such prior art holding devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,262 to Dunson, entitled Bucket Brace And Method Of Use; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0209622 to Kennedy, entitled Holding Apparatus For Buckets; and U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0106158 to Roebuck, entitled Bucket Grasp For Spin Resistive Mixing.
A problem associated with such prior art holding devices is one of safety to the operator. In such prior art holding devices, the operator is required to place one leg in a specific position near the bucket. This may cause the operator to become off balance. If the holding device slips away from the leg, it can spin with the bucket at great speed and impact the user's leg. This can easily cause a severe injury. Furthermore, the impact to the leg can easily cause the operator to fall, therein providing the potential for secondary injuries.
A need therefore exists for a holding device that can safely engage the exterior of a bucket while the contents of the bucket are mixed, wherein the engagement mechanism is not anchored by the leg or foot of the user. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.